All Tied Up!

We've been working on shoe tying for about 2 years now.

Andrew, my oldest, wears a size 7.5 men's shoe.  That's HUGE when you are only 8 years old.  Both of my kids have fine motor delays.  Their day-to-day struggles with this are usually pretty hidden to the outside world.  Unfortunately, it gets pretty hard to find "cool" Velcro shoes when your looking in the men's section.  I tried to buy shoes that tie, and just double knot them, but kid's shoes seem to come untied with every step they take. 

Not any more!  We are 25 days into the school year, and today...both boys tied their shoes.  On their own, by themselves.  Very cool!

  How did we get to this momentous day?  First off, I'm not an OT.  I had no clue how I should go about teaching the fine art of shoe tying.  So, I got creative, and was not afraid to switch gears.  We started using shoes that we had around the house.  That just wasn't working.  It was frustrating for them both.  Time to switch gears!  They have a sturdy practice shoe at Lakeshore Learning, but it was not in our budget.  Instead, I went to the Dollar Store, and was very lucky to come across shoe tying practice cards.  These had nice looong laces, were flat, and had directions on the back.  Sweet!  We got to work and practiced every day with our shoe cards.  It took about 2 weeks, but after a while both boys could tie their cards.  Then, we got back out our shoes.  They practiced, and practiced, and practiced.  Every day.  Not long, about 5 minutes at a time, but every day.  Pretty soon, they were tying shoes not on their feet.  After that, we moved on to shoes they were wearing.  Much harder!  Today, however, they both got it!

Last year, Andrew's teacher called and said the kids were teasing him for wearing "grandpa" shoes and pull on shorts all the time.  So, I went out and got him some tie shoes and button shorts.  He started coming home with his shoes untied and his pants unbuttoned because he just didn't have the skills to do it yet.  I asked him if he asked for help, and he said "yes", but the adults just told him that he "needed to learn how."  He went the rest of the year in Velcro shoes and pull on shorts.  I also vowed that I would not push him before he was ready to learn a skill, and not worry so much about what others say.

I love homeschooling for that reason the best.  My kids are awesome.  They are kind, caring, helpful, forgiving, compassionate, and fiercely dedicated.  They should never be made to feel "less than" because it takes them a little longer to gain the skills needed to tie their shoes, or because they don't yet have the finger strength to button their pants.  To me, they are "more than" I could have ever imagined.  And I am so proud of all their accomplishments, no matter when they come!